Sarre, Friedrich Paul Theodor, 1865-1945 Search this
Extent:
150 Linear feet (circa 30,000 items)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Blueprints
Journals (accounts)
Photographs
Clippings
Notebooks
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Articles
Paper squeezes
Correspondence
Diaries
Sketches
Rubbings
Place:
Turkey
Mesopotamia
Bakun, Tall-e (Iran)
Iran
Iraq
Lebanon
Persepolis (Iran)
Pasargadae (Extinct city)
Taq-e Bostan Site (Iran)
Sāmarrāʼ (Iraq)
Syria
Date:
1903-1947
Summary:
An outstanding scholar in the field of Iranian studies, Ernst Herzfeld (1879--1948) explored all phases of Near Eastern culture from the prehistoric period to Islamic times. This collection documents Herzfeld's excavations at Samarra, Persepolis, Pasargadae, and Aleppo and includes correspondence; field notebooks; drawings; sketchbooks; inventories of objects; "squeeze" copies of architectural details; and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
Papers (1899--1962) of German born archaeologist Ernst Emil Herzfeld (1879--1948), a preeminent scholar of Near Eastern and Iranian studies. The collection measures 150 linear feet (circa 30,000 items) and documents Herzfeld's work as a pioneer in the field and sheds light on his excavations at Samarra, Persepolis, Pasargadae, and Aleppo. Formats include correspondence; field notebooks; drawings; sketchbooks; inventories of objects; "squeeze" copies of architectural details; and photographs.
Arrangement:
This collection is organized into seven series.
Series 1: Travel journals
Series 2: Sketchbooks
Series 3: Notebooks
Series 4: Photographic files 1-42
Series 5: Drawings and maps
Series 6: Squeezes
Series 7: Samarra Expedition
Biographical / Historical:
The Ernst Herzfeld Papers document the career of Ernst Herzfeld (1879--1948), a German architect, archaeologist, and historian of Islamic and Pre-Islamic studies. After training as an architect he studied archaeology under Delitzch from 1903 to 1906 at the excavations at Assur in Mesopotamia. A student of Latin, Greek, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew, Herzfeld received a doctorate in Humanistic Studies at universities in Munich and Berlin in 1907. His work with Friedrich Sarre to survey the monuments of the Tigris-Euphrates valleys resulted in landmark studies in architectural history, published in 1911 and 1920.
In 1920 Herzfeld was appointed to the chair of Historical Geography in Berlin and began his excavation at Samarra. Herzfeld's work there led to a six-volume publication. He published widely throughout his life on the sources of Islamic architecture and ornament, including the Royal Palace at Persepolis.
From 1934 until the end of his life Herzfeld spent his time producing many books and articles, lecturing, and working at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1936--1945.) Many of his works continue to be published post-humously.
1879 July 23 -- Born in Celle, Germany.
1897 -- Received diploma from Joachimsthaler Gymnasium, Berlin.
1897-circa 1898 -- Fulfilled military service.
circa 1899 -- Studied architecture at the Technical University and Assyriology, art history, and philosophy at the Friedrich-Wilhems Universität in Berlin.
1903 -- Passed exam in structural engineering.
1903-1905 -- Assistant to Walter Andrae (1875-1956) in Assur.
1905-1906 -- Traveled throughout Iran and Iraq.
1907 -- Excavation in Cilicia. Passed oral exam in February. Awarded doctorate in Humanistic Studies by Friedrich-Wilhems Universtät zu Berlin. After receiving Ph.D. traveled extensively in Syria and Iraq with Friedrich Sarre, director of the Islamic Museum in Berlin.
1911-1913 -- Field Director under direction of Sarre during expedition to Samarra.
circa 1914 -- Drafted into service in France and Poland during World War I. Sent to Iraq where he functioned as a surveyor.
1916 -- Father died.
1917 -- Appointed associate professor for Historical Geography and Art History of the Ancient Orient at Berlin. Along with Friedrich Sarre and others, founded the German-Persian Society to increase cultural and economic exchange between Germany and Persia.
1920 -- Appointed world's first full professor of Near Eastern Archeology. Begins excavation at Samarra.
1922 -- Mother died.
1923-1934 -- In Persia, where he completed many excavations and studies.
1928 -- Excavation at Pasargadae.
1931-1934 -- Appointed director of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago and moved to Persepolis.
1934 -- As grandson of Jews, Nazi legislation expelling state employees of Jewish descent forced Herzfeld to retire as a professor employed by the state. Moved to London.
1936 -- Delivered Lowell Lectures. Moved to Boston. Lectured on Iranian history and appointed a member of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study.
1944 -- Retired from Princeton University.
1948 January 20 -- Died.
Provenance:
Ernst Herzfeld donated his papers to the Freer Gallery of Art in 1946.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The material from the excavations at Samarra, except for the photographs mounted in Photo Files 19--3, and drawings which are in Series 5: Drawings.
"Two campaigns of excavation at Samarra in Iraq, carried out by Ernst Herzfeld on behalf of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin between the years 1911 and 1913 mark the beginning of large-scale archaeological research on Islamic antiquities. During this time, Herzfeld was supported for brief periods by the swiss architect Samuel Guyer, Commander von Ludloff, various technical assistants, and finally Friedrich Sarre, who was the director of the Islamic department at the museum and initiator of the expedition. For most of the time, however, all tasks that today would be divided among a team of archaeologists rested solely on Herzfeld's shoulders: coordinating hundreds of workmen at various sites, measuring buildings, drawing architecture and objects, and cataloging finds, but also negociating with local authorities who were often uncooperative. Still working at a time when the success of a venture such as the Samarra expedition was measured by its spectacular finds in both architecture and precious objects, the immense responsibility for bringing this expedition through the unexplored territories of Islamic archaeology to a successful conclusion presented an enormous physical and psychological challenge. In an effort that from the perspective of modern archaeology must be called Herculean, he excavated and examined nineteen sites [Great Mosque of al-Mutawakkil, Congregational Mosque of Madinat al-Mutawakkiliyya, Shiite Shrine Complex, Qubbat al-Ṣulaibiyya; palaces of Balkuwārā, Ṣūr ʿĪṣā, and the Qaṣr al-ʿĀshiq; the Cemetery at Shabbat al-Hawā; Mausoleum of Imām al-Dūr; Tall al-ʿAlīq; Ḥarba Bridge and finally the residential architecture at al-Quraina, al-Qāṭūn, al-Jubairiyya, and west of Ṣūr ʿĪṣā, and the baths] and collected a stupendous corpus of material, one that in many respects still forms the foundation for our knowledge of the city of Samarra and ʼAbbāsid art in the 3rd/9th centuries. What is astonishing is that Herzfeld himself considered his achievements during the first campaign in Samarra to be merely a dress rehearsal for the more ambitious second campaign which focused on the Dār al-Khilāfa." [Leisten, Thomas, 2003: "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : Final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003. Preface, p.IX."]
Arrangement:
135 units of original materials; numbered subseries, kept in the order in which they arrived, and housed in document boxes.
Biographical / Historical:
"Ernst Emil Herzfeld (1879-1948) was an orientalist whose many talents led him to explore all phases of Near Eastern culture, from the prehistoric period to Islamic times and from linguistics and religion to art and architecture." [Margaret Cool Root, 1976: "The Herzfeld Archive of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 11, pp. 119-124."]
Local Numbers:
FSA A.06 07
General:
- Title is provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive, Thomas Leisten's publication, "Excavation of Samarra, vol 1," and Alastair Northedge's publication, "An Interpretation of the Palace of the Caliph at Samarra (Dar Al-Khilafa or Jawsaq Al-Khaqani). In Ars Orientalis, Vol. 23."
Series title in Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive reads, "Records of Samarra Expeditions."
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Field notes related primarly to the two campaigns of excavation at Sāmarrāʼ (Iraq), carried out by Ernst Herzfeld on behalf of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin between the years 1911 and 1913.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Excavation of Samarra (Iraq): Palace of the Caliph (Dar al-Khilafa, Jawsaq al-Khaqani, Bayt al-Khalifah), Square Reception-Hall Block: View of Wall with Ornamentation
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 8.7 cm. x 12 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iraq
Mesopotamia
Sāmarrāʼ (Iraq)
Iraq -- Salah ad-Din -- Samarra -- Dar al-Khilafa
Date:
1911-1913
Scope and Contents:
- Original publication caption reads, "Orn. 98."
- Additional information in publication reads, "98. Ort wahrscheinlich Djausaq, ohne genauere Bestimmung, Viollet 1908 pl. XXII, G. L. Bell, Amur. fig. 106 opp. p.241; Tafel XXXV, Abb. 96."
Arrangement:
Prints are organized in sequential number following publication series, "Die Ausgrabungen von Samarra." They are arranged in photo file folders which are housed in document boxes, and stored on shelves.
Local Numbers:
Box 11, File 19, Folder 2, Image 39a
FSA A.6 04.PF.19.084
General:
- Title is provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Ernst Herzfeld's publication, "Die Ausgrabungen von Samarra, vol. 1: Der Wandschmuck der Bauten von Samarra und seine Ornamentik."
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Prints related primarly to the second campaign of excavation at Sāmarrāʼ (Iraq), carried out by Ernst Herzfeld on behalf of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin in 1913.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 9.8 cm. x 12 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iraq
Mesopotamia
Sāmarrāʼ (Iraq)
Iraq -- Salah ad-Din -- Samarra
Date:
1911-1913
Scope and Contents:
- Original Caption transcribed by Joseph Upton reads, "Miss Bell: Samarra, ähnlich d. Stücke der Ḥabiyyah."
- Additional information from Archives staff reads, "No existing negative."
Arrangement:
In early 1970s, Joseph Upton has organized the prints in sequential number following planned but never published volumes of the "Die Ausgrabungen von Samarra" series to deal with the architecture of the palaces, mosques and private houses. In early 1990s, FSg Archives re-numbered the pages included in the photo file folders and re-housed them in document boxes, stored on shelves.
Local Numbers:
File 22-48-198
FSA A.06 04.PF.22.198
General:
- Accession number and title are provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive.
- Photo File 22 and Photo File 23 were arranged in Albums labeled "Paläste und Moscheen-I and -II", respectively. These two Albums apparently were arranged by Herzfeld with a view to a publication of the architecture of the palaces, mosques and private houses of Samarra which was never prepared. According to Joseph Upton, the only identification, written on the backs of the prints which were glued to the Album page, had a first number in red crayon used in the captions as the negative number. In some cases, an additional number is given in blue crayon, possibly indicating a revision of the list or an alternative negative. A set of photograph duplicates, with handwritten annotations, in black, red, and blue, seem to confirm Upton's findings.
- Additional information from Archives staff reads, "No existing negative."
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Prints related primarly to the second campaign of excavation at Sāmarrāʼ (Iraq), carried out by Ernst Herzfeld on behalf of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin in 1913.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 8.8 cm. x 12.2 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iraq
Mesopotamia
Sāmarrāʼ (Iraq)
Iraq -- Salah ad-Din -- Samarra
Date:
1911-1913
Scope and Contents:
Original Caption transcribed by Joseph Upton reads, "Miss Bell: Samarra, Ornament 64."
Additional information from Archives staff reads, "No existing negative."
Arrangement:
In early 1970s, Joseph Upton has organized the prints in sequential number following planned but never published volumes of the "Die Ausgrabungen von Samarra" series to deal with the architecture of the palaces, mosques and private houses. In early 1990s, FSg Archives re-numbered the pages included in the photo file folders and re-housed them in document boxes, stored on shelves.
Local Numbers:
File 22-48-199
FSA A.06 04.PF.22.199
General:
- Accession number and title are provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive.
- Photo File 22 and Photo File 23 were arranged in Albums labeled "Paläste und Moscheen-I and -II", respectively. These two Albums apparently were arranged by Herzfeld with a view to a publication of the architecture of the palaces, mosques and private houses of Samarra which was never prepared. According to Joseph Upton, the only identification, written on the backs of the prints which were glued to the Album page, had a first number in red crayon used in the captions as the negative number. In some cases, an additional number is given in blue crayon, possibly indicating a revision of the list or an alternative negative. A set of photograph duplicates, with handwritten annotations, in black, red, and blue, seem to confirm Upton's findings.
- Additional information from Archives staff reads, "No existing negative."
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Prints related primarly to the second campaign of excavation at Sāmarrāʼ (Iraq), carried out by Ernst Herzfeld on behalf of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin in 1913.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 8.4 cm. x 11.8 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iraq
Mesopotamia
Sāmarrāʼ (Iraq)
Iraq -- Salah ad-Din -- Samarra
Date:
1911-1913
Scope and Contents:
Original Caption transcribed by Joseph Upton reads, "Miss Bell: Samarra."
Additional information from Archives staff reads, "No existing negative."
Arrangement:
In early 1970s, Joseph Upton has organized the prints in sequential number following planned but never published volumes of the "Die Ausgrabungen von Samarra" series to deal with the architecture of the palaces, mosques and private houses. In early 1990s, FSg Archives re-numbered the pages included in the photo file folders and re-housed them in document boxes, stored on shelves.
Local Numbers:
File 22-48-200
FSA A.06 04.PF.22.200
General:
- Accession number and title are provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive.
- Photo File 22 and Photo File 23 were arranged in Albums labeled "Paläste und Moscheen-I and -II", respectively. These two Albums apparently were arranged by Herzfeld with a view to a publication of the architecture of the palaces, mosques and private houses of Samarra which was never prepared. According to Joseph Upton, the only identification, written on the backs of the prints which were glued to the Album page, had a first number in red crayon used in the captions as the negative number. In some cases, an additional number is given in blue crayon, possibly indicating a revision of the list or an alternative negative. A set of photograph duplicates, with handwritten annotations, in black, red, and blue, seem to confirm Upton's findings.
- Additional information from Archives staff reads, "No existing negative."
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Prints related primarly to the second campaign of excavation at Sāmarrāʼ (Iraq), carried out by Ernst Herzfeld on behalf of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin in 1913.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Amida : Matériaux pour l'épigraphie et l'histoire musulmanes du Diyar-bekr / par Max van Berchem; Beiträge zur kunstgeschichte des mittelalters von Nordmesopotamien, Hellas und dem Abendlande, von Josef Strzygowski; mit einem beitrage: "The churches and monasteries of the Tur Abdin", von Gertrude L. Bell; XXIII taflen in lichtdruck und 330 textabbildungen
